To receive presentations from the following organisations:
1) Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation – Environment Update
2) Green Heat Coop – Community Energy
Decision:
Presentations were received from Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation on ‘Environmental Updates’ and Green Heat Coop on ‘Community Energy’.
Minutes:
Audio recording – 25 minutes 1 second
The Chair invited Kris Karslake from Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation to give a verbal presentation on ‘Environmental Updates’. They thanked the Chair for the opportunity to present and advised that:
· The work of the Heritage Foundation was guided by the aims within Strategy 2028.
· One of these aims was financial resilience and to address this aim, they had successfully obtained funding through the Great British Energy Fund to conduct a feasibility study on their rural estate to assess the potential for renewable energy generation.
· A contractor called Seen had been commissioned to carry out the study, and two sample locations with the highest suitability had been selected.
· They were waiting to hear back from UK Power Networks on the infrastructure cost for those locations.
· They were unsure what size solar array would be deemed feasible, however, it was revealed that a five-megawatt peak solar array would be enough to power 1,375 homes and require less than 1% of their rural estate.
· Income generation from the project would be maximised to benefit residents through their charitable activities and grants programme.
· It was still unknown who would design, construct, operate and maintain the solar array, or if a community share option would offer the best value.
· Development of this kind on Green Belt land would also conflict with the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), unless the Heritage Foundation could clearly demonstrate that the benefits of a ‘Solar Meadow’ would outweigh the harms.
· Any proposal would also be affected by their charitable objective of preserving the environment and the Garden City ethos of local food production and guarding the countryside surrounding Letchworth.
· A board paper would be presented to the Board of Trustees if one of the selected locations was deemed to be feasible.
· Solar arrays were preferable on rural land rather than buildings as they could be reversible developments and support biodiversity improvements during their operation, whereas not all of their buildings were technically or economically suitable for solar panels.
· They would progress to pre-application advice with the Council if UK Power Networks judged one of the sites to be financially sustainable.
In response to a question from Fiona Hughes, Kris Karslake advised that they were hoping to know by summer whether solar arrays would be feasible at the selected locations.
The Chair thanked Kris Karslake for their presentation and invited Fiona Hughes from Green Heat Coop to give a presentation on ‘Community Energy’. They thanked the Chair for the opportunity to present and advised that:
· Green Heat Coop were a non-profit community energy business.
· Community energy was about keeping the benefits of energy use in local communities, rather than losing them to large companies or hostile nations.
· Not-for-profit companies or cooperatives that used democratic business models were used to invest in community energy in the form of renewable energy generation.
· They could also provide advice and services to residents related to home energy, and surplus funds from these schemes could be reinvested into other social impact work.
· The Government planned to increase community energy production in the UK to 8 gigawatts as part of the 2030 Clean Power Action Plan, which was 20 times the current capacity.
· Great British Energy were overseeing the clean power transition and funding for community energy schemes.
· Community energy could be a source of local pride for residents as they could provide project input and directly benefit from the outcomes.
· Several ‘Solar Schools’ with solar arrays already existed across North Herts and East Herts such as Hitchin Boys School and Kingshott School.
· Grand Union Community Energy, Hertford Energy Now and Zero Carbon Ashwell were examples of community energy projects already within Hertfordshire.
· Green Heat Coop provided advice on home energy renovations to residents, including a heat pump advisory service which provided an independent, unbiased review of their energy needs before purchasing a heat pump. The cost of this had been reduced as much as possible to increase its affordability.
· Their community outreach work included attendance at community events, holding local talks, and opening homes to showcase installations.
· Funding had been received from the Council towards their Royston Homes Energy Improvement Guide (RHEIG) in which they ran a householder questionnaire in Royston to find out more on issues with homes and whether there was interest in receiving home surveys. A good response had been received, and surveys had already been completed on numerous homes, with energy modelling in progress to retrofit them.
· Two Warm Home Evenings on 11 and 24 February would also be held to receive feedback on the RHEIG, and to provide tips on draft proofing.
· A drop-in session relating to the RHEIG would also be held on 14 February at Royston Repair Café.
· Residents could check whether they were on the cheapest energy tariff by checking their energy bill as energy providers were obligated to display this.
· Regular meter readings were encouraged so that residents only paid for what they used, however, smart meters were also worth considering.
· Heating controls and switching devices off when not in use were also recommended.
· The Priority Services Register allowed vulnerable residents to access extra services from their energy provider free of charge.
· They had flexible volunteering roles which varied from being a community energy champion focused on community outreach to administrative roles in governance.
The Chair encouraged those who were eligible to apply to be on the Priority Services Register.
The following members of the public asked questions:
· Roger Lovegrove
· Sue Lines
· Julia Sonander
In response to questions, Fiona Hughes advised that:
· It would be ideal for new homes to be built with renewable energy installations and energy efficiency measures rather than just the potential for them.
· Green Heat Coop were involved with the Hertfordshire Local Retrofit Strategy which would facilitate conversations on renewable energy in planning.
· There would be a push for more solar schools through the Great British Energy Fund, but it would be up to authorities like Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) to decide whether solar PV installations on schools were financially viable.
· Many groups were working with HCC already on this.
In response to questions, the Chair advised that:
· Updates to the NPPF in December would compel developers and local authorities to consider how roof orientation would facilitate low carbon generation.
· Not all school buildings were suitable for solar panel installations.